Welcome to VegasMessageBoard
It appears you are visiting our community as a guest.
In order to view full-size images, participate in discussions, vote in polls, etc, you will need to Log in or Register.

I was posting a live trip report and then I pushed it by the wayside because we were having too much fun. The last two days, in particular, we had a great time.

We stayed at the MB and had a wonderful experience. MB has been our home base for the last 3 trips and we will continue to stay at MB: it fits our style. We left BWI on a 7:00 AM flight and arrived at 8:50. Our bags were coming out by the time we arrived at baggage claim. We were at MB by 9:30. The staff at the invited check-in line told us we could not check-in until 10:00. We wandered around the casino and checked in at 10. I asked the clerk for an upgrade but assumed I was SOL because the MAGIC convention was in town. The clerk upgraded us to a suite (room 31201). This room had the best view we have ever had in Vegas. It was about 6 or 7 floors below the Foundation Room and had the same viewpoint of the FR. It was also 30 steps from the elevators but you could not hear any of the elevator traffic.

The first day we were very tired. The last couple of weeks had been crazy for both of us work wise and we worn down. We hit Burger Bar for lunch and did a little gambling afterwards. At 4:00 we were both ready to go to sleep and so we decided to walk down to Linq and check it out. We were underwhelmed. I will be the first to admit that we are not big fans of CET. The whole promenade was a ghost town when walked through. There was no line for the High Roller. The one thing that shocked me is that the Quad now faces toward the promenade and there is no access point from Las Vegas Blvd. All you see is fire exits. It is quite ugly. We walked back to MB and were in bed by 8:30. Pretty pathetic.

We woke up around 6 AM and were out the door by 7. We had breakfast and then walked towards Fashion Show Mall. My wife is a shopper and she likes to shop in Vegas while I gamble. We had some time to kill so we went to the Venetian and played some slots. My wife loves the bloody mary's there and we had a couple. I dropped her back at the mall and I hoofed it back to MB. On the way back, I stopped at Slice and had a slice of pepperoni. It wasn't bad. I sat down at the double deck blackjack table and took out a marker for a $1000. I played mostly $50 to $75 a hand. I finished up a few hundred dollars. Wife got back to the hotel and only did about $600 in damage. We headed up to the room to shower and change to eat at L'atelier de Joel Robuchon. Unlike the last time we were there, the restaurant was packed. First off, the bread was out of this world. I'm not a big bread person but the stuff just melts in your mouth. We ordered a bottle of wine based on the sommelier's recommendation and was shocked to see it was only around $50. Our courses consisted of the following:

After a nice leisurely meal. Wife played a little low limit blackjack with me but eventually wandered off to play the Sex in the City slots. I sat down at the $50 DD blackjack table and had a great time. At one point, I was up $1500 but had a couple bad double downs and ended up about $600. I paid off my earlier marker. The drink service was awesome that night and we were feeling no pain by the time we got to bed.

Woke up the next morning and we both felt like shit. Whatever rum they put in my rum and cokes did not agree with me. My wife had way too glasses of champagne. The world was spinning for her so I went down to Starbucks to get her some coffee. Brought her back the coffee and something to nibble on. She wanted to lie down after she had breakfast. I went down to play BJ and it was a bad idea. Playing BJ when you not into usually leads to bad results. In 45 minutes, I a $1000. I was back to even for the trip and was in a bad mood. We spent the morning and early afternoon playing various slots. I was pretty much even. After a quick lunch, we went to the Bath House spa. I had a steam and hit the whirlpool before my massage. It was just what the doctor ordered. We felt much better after our treatments. As a side note, it unclear whether changes will be made to the spa when the Delano officially takes the helm. All I know is that for an hour, I was the only one using the facilities.

After the spa, we got cleaned up and headed to RM Seafood. This is one of our favorite places in Vegas. It is a tradition to split a caesar salad and order a seafood sampler. It was great and in particular the oysters from New Zealand were fabulous. My wife, a big Top Chef fan, yelled at me again because Rick Moonen was not there. She was still angry at me from several trips ago when I told her not to bother him for a picture as he was talking to a group of individuals a couple seats over. After dinner, I played DD BJ for an hour while the wife played slots. I took out another marker and ended up $300. We went to the lounge afterwards to listen to some music and had some drinks. We ended up talking to another couple for an hour or two and called it a night.

We were recharged when we woke up the next day and I walked with my wife down to the Forum Shops so she could continue her shopping excursion. I did a slow wander back to MB. On the spur of the moment, I decided to play some $25 BJ at the Luxor. Initially, I was the only one at the table and had a nice little run going. The dealer was getting some nice tips. Of course, someone sits down and the table's vibe completely changes. He is doing all sorts of strange hits and is getting angry every time he loses. I get up and leave up $300. I go back to MB and get killed. In two hours, I'm down a $1000. I try to go to Fleur for lunch but all the seats are full. I end up eating at the food court. Boy is that a hike from the casino. After lunch, I go back to the DD table and take out another marker and that is when the fun begins. Two guys, A and B, had just arrived for a guy's weekend. Friends since college, they were their for three reasons: blackjack, booze and copious amounts of protein. Put simply, they just wanted to have fun. For the next four hours, I had the most enjoyable time I have ever had at the blackjack table. The dealers were great, the pit bosses were fun and most importantly we were having success at the table. There were lots of jokes, drinking and fist bumping. About half way through the session, my wife showed up and sat down at the table. For some reason, no one else wanted to join in.

A asks my wife to cut and it results in a killer shoe. Because of the shoe, he starts calling my wife a consultant and giving her a commission. Over a period of 2 hours he gives her close to $200. Within 50 minutes of that shoe, we are running out of reds and greens. A, as he calls it, is trying to create the green tower of death. He is betting around $300 to $400 a hand with greens and is being paid in kind in greens. Soon he has three large green stacks along with a large black stack. The lack of reds is a bigger issue. The dealer has so many tokes from us that they only had 5 or 6 red chips left. It took 45 minutes to replenish the reds. Finally, we all have to call it quits. We have tickets to MJ One and they are going to Stripsteak for bone marrow and beef tartar and then they are going to head over to RM Seafood for a seafood platter. Paid off both markers and left up 1k.

Had a great time a MJ One and ended up at Lupo for dinner. The food was ok but nothing special in our view. We had considered Kumi but after RM the night before we decided against sushi. I played some more BJ with A and called it a night. Wife played slots with her found money. Lost about $300 during that session. B had gone back to his room and passed out.

Had a similarly fun night Thursday playing blackjack at Mandalay. Six-hour session that was mostly up and down, then got very up, but went down almost as fast. Walked around nearly even. Sigh. It was that kind of trip.

The wife wanted to hit Crystals and so I knew that this was the day that the damage would be done to the credit card. We walked down to Aria and we wandered around Aria for a little bit. I went back to MB to check-in for tomorrow's flight on SW. That completed, I took my spot at the DD BJ table. Lost my buy in and a $1000 marker. Took out one more marker and then A & B joined the table. The dealer had no personality and seemed angry so we switched tables. Well we caught the same lightening again and had a blast. A couple hours into the session, my wife joins again and she starts to get paid commissions. Unfortunately, it was not enough to cover the 4k in purses she bought We went on another roll and everyone was happy. "A" was tipping the waitress between $10 to $25 each time a round was brought. Drinks were piling up and we were all hammered, especially the consultant. Everyone was getting hungry and we decided to play one last shoe. I had a $100 bet and received to 8s. The dealer had a 10. Well, I ended up splitting 4 times and had 2 double downs. I received a 2 and a 4 for the double downs. Amazingly, the dealer busted. I paid off the markers when the shoe was complete. I was up $1200 for the trip. We planned to hit RX Boiler Room that evening but A & B invited us to join them for dinner. They wanted the seafood tower of death. We walk into RM and it empty. The MAGIC conference had cleared out. Low and behold who do we run into when we sit down, Rick Moonen. My shit-faced wife starts yelling his name and he comes over. She finally gets her picture with him all though she is three sheets to the wind. "A" starts talking to Rick and tells him that he wants the seafood tower of death. The bring out this this shellfish tower that is fucking insane. It is definitely not on the menu. For four people, there were 3 lobsters, a ton of jumbo shrimp, Alaskan King Crab legs, and two dozen oysters. It was freaking insane but one of the best meals we ever had. Although I tried to chip in, A paid for it all (although I'm sure it was comped). We went back to the BJ table for one last time. Initially, I had a good run but ended up losing a few hundred. Eventually, we called it a night and thanked A and B for a wonderful time.

Played 30 hours of BJ, a record for me, and was rated at $60 per hand. I thought this was a little low.

Earned 74,000 tier credits.

The Excalibur is a dump and needs to be destroyed. It is disgusting and the breeding ground for the Ebola virus.

Luxor seems to be very depressing and has no identity.

The saddest person in the world is at the shoppes of MB. At least four out of the five days, Pete Rose was purportedly signing autographs at some movie memorabilia store. Not once, did I ever see anyone seek his autograph and I must have walked past this store 7 or 8 times.

Solid report! Hearing about that fun table and making Vegas friends with A & B is what trips are all about. Everyone is winning, great dealer, great pit boss, great tablemates and a lot of chips stacking up in your favor. Awesome!

PS - I also thought MAGIC was for the card game and thought it was odd that Vegas would be the destination of choice for those folks. So if it isn't about the card game..what exactly is it?!

They wanted the seafood tower of death. We walk into RM and it empty. The MAGIC conference had cleared out. Low and behold who do we run into when we sit down, Rick Moonen. My shit-faced wife starts yelling his name and he comes over. She finally gets her picture with him all though she is three sheets to the wind. "A" starts talking to Rick and tells him that he wants the seafood tower of death. The bring out this this shellfish tower that is fucking insane. It is definitely not on the menu. For four people, there were 3 lobsters, a ton of jumbo shrimp, Alaskan King Crab legs, and two dozen oysters. It was freaking insane but one of the best meals we ever had. Although I tried to chip in, A paid for it all (although I'm sure it was comped). We went back to the BJ table for one last time. Initially, I had a good run but ended up losing a few hundred. Eventually, we called it a night and thanked A and B for a wonderful time.

I waved hi to him as I was exiting RM Seafood a few years ago, he seemed like he was having a good time talking to a group of people during a relatively empty lunch-time. The shellfish tower of death sounds like it could feed 8-10 people.

Solid report! Hearing about that fun table and making Vegas friends with A & B is what trips are all about. Everyone is winning, great dealer, great pit boss, great tablemates and a lot of chips stacking up in your favor. Awesome!

PS - I also thought MAGIC was for the card game and thought it was odd that Vegas would be the destination of choice for those folks. So if it isn't about the card game..what exactly is it?!

I waved hi to him as I was exiting RM Seafood a few years ago, he seemed like he was having a good time talking to a group of people during a relatively empty lunch-time. The shellfish tower of death sounds like it could feed 8-10 people.

Click to expand...

It was an obscene amount of food. With the exception of a few oysters, everything was eaten. Rick was very nice and checked back in on use.